Michael Elsbernd

Michael Elsbernd teaches organ and provides ceremonial music for various gatherings in Herrick Chapel as Grinnell’s College Organist. His research on the North German Baroque musician Johann Adam Reincken was funded by a grant from The Presser Foundation in 2001, upon the recommendation of the Faculty Council for Graduate Studies at the University of Michigan.

At the invitation of the Keyboard Studies Division at Iowa State University, Dr. Elsbernd performed the 2019 Organists of Iowa series concert, and presented a lecture on Eastern European organ music as part of the University’s C-HOP (Carillion, Harpsichord, Organ, Piano) Festival. Other recent recital engagements included a collaborative performance of his own organ transcription of Gustav Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen at Voxman Concert Hall at the University of Iowa (March, 2023), a performance of J.S. Bach’s Easter Oratorio, BWV 249 (conducting from the harpsichord), and Bach’s Concerto for Two Harpsichords, BWV 1061 (April 2023). In September 2023, Elsbernd presented the opening lecture-recital for Wartburg College’s “Bach’s Lunch Series.” In April 2024, Elsbernd will serve as an adjudicator at the National Undergraduate Organ Competition in Ottumwa, Iowa.

In addition to his work at Grinnell, Elsbernd is Director of Worship and Music at St. John’s Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Des Moines, Iowa, where he conducts the Cathedral Choir, String Scholars, and serves as principal organist. He is also a Lecturer at Grand View University (music history) and College Organist and Teaching Artist of Organ at Simpson College. In his free time, he enjoys road cycling with friends and family on RAGBRAI and other scenic trails throughout Iowa.